The most memorable swimsuits of all time

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Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.

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The most memorable swimsuits of all time

— by Angie

on July 28, 2010

I rarely post about celebrities, but I was mesmerized by some of the photographs in InStyle.com’s feature on “most iconic swimsuits ever” and wanted to share my thoughts.

I might be in the minority, but the old Hollywood stars steal the swimsuit show hands down in my book. And I can’t pinpoint why that is. Perhaps its the visual integrity of black and white photographs. Perhaps it’s my passion for 50’s and 60’s fashion and movies of that era.

More recent stars like Halle Berry, Jessica Simpson, Demi Moore and Jessica Alba also look breathtaking in their swimsuit movie roles. However, there is something special about women’s swimsuit shots taken 50 years ago. Just look at Elizabeth Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Ursula Andress and Raquel Welsh. Their beauty blows me away.

21 Pictures made the iconic swimsuit list. In the spirit of Summer swimsuit fun, take a look and let me know what you think. Elizabeth Taylor is my favourite. Who is yours?

Click these thumbnails to see larger images at InStyle.com.

Celebrities · Swimwear

40 comments · Add a comment

Kendra

(website)

I think it’s because they have bodies more aligned with the average women. They have curves, they don’t have tight washboard stomachs and non-existant love handles. I think we can relate to their natural effortless beauty much more than todays stars that tend to be stick-thin (even though it may be natural for them, it’s far from the avg), and most have tight, tiny little bodies.

July 28, 2010 at 7:41 am

Cricket

The vintage suits also have more structure … must be a different fabric than the flimsy-clingy that is currently used. Do you know, Angie, what was used then?

July 28, 2010 at 7:47 am

Fran

I agree with Kendra–these women look strong and powerful. And I think the black and white photography enhances that powerful look.

July 28, 2010 at 7:47 am

Laura

(website)

Veteran

Good question about the fabrication of swimsuits. I doubt they had the Lycra content of today’s suits, making it even more amazing that the women wore them so well.

My favorite is Halle Berry in 2002. She is perfection!

July 28, 2010 at 7:51 am

Queen Mum

Veteran

I do like the integrity of the more modest swimsuits. Love the Deborah Kerr, Annette Funicello and Sally Field. These swimsuits have personality whereas the swimsuits that we tend to see stars sporting today draw all the attention to the body (however shapely and cut it may be.. they might as well be posing nude in many instances)

July 28, 2010 at 7:51 am

Ele

(website)

Active Member

I like Deborah Kerr’s suit best, but Liz Taylor is a close second.

Oh, and good point about the fabrication difference- stretch fabric as we know it today didn’t exist back then. It can’t have made for a very comfortable swimming experience!

July 28, 2010 at 7:57 am

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I’m not sure about that, Kendra and Fran. Are the bodies of the older Hollywood movie stars really more aligned with average, everyday women? I’ll think about that a little more. They are definitely a little meatier than today’s swimsuit models, but still very slim and hourglass-y. No photo shop! That’s a HUGE difference.

Cricket and Queenie, good thinking! No fabric stretch in those days. The swimsuits were more like clothes. More modest too.

July 28, 2010 at 8:12 am

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

There are times when I’m glad I can’t click through and view the pictures you post. This is one of them. I don’t think my ego could hack it!
So are the older swim-suit shots a little more modest/classy-looking? That would be my uneducated guess.

July 28, 2010 at 8:15 am

Beth

Veteran

Elizabeth Taylor gets my vote. She’s spectacular from head-to-toe without the help of plastic surgery or the elliptical. Her swimsuit, like the other “old Hollywood” suits, adds to her overall look rather than highlighting specific body parts.

July 28, 2010 at 8:26 am

Antje

Veteran

Love the Liz Taylor one for its glamor and great photography, but in the end I’m going for the Halle Berry one. Makes me just swoon.

July 28, 2010 at 8:37 am

marianne

Active Member

I think it’s the black and white photography – I love photographs from that era. Deborah Kerr in that movie is so beautiful. Maybe I am biased, but her suit is my fave.

July 28, 2010 at 8:46 am

Rosie

Veteran

I like how the slide show goes straight from Jessica Simpson to Michael Jackson! I do love the old photos. I think the black and white makes them much more classy. I tend to see the whole image and theme of the shot more than the body of the person. I see mostly the body in the modern shots.

I actually appreciate all the bodies shown in these shots – the women have worked really, really hard to attain their physique. We all know it is not easy.

Liz Taylor is ultra-glamorous = gorgeous!

July 28, 2010 at 8:58 am

shana

Veteran

My fave is the Liz Taylor suit – simple & elegant. There’s an overall glamour to the older shots – lots of hair & makeup work too. Many of the more modern shots feature wet or slicked back hair which gives a more casual look.

July 28, 2010 at 9:36 am

RoseandJoan

Veteran

Oh, I’m going to be so predictable here but the older images ooze a glamour and unattainability that is just not captured in today’s films. Maybe it’s partly the paparazzi but open any newspaper today and you will see actresses on holiday, frolicking in the waves with their latest beau. It’s just all too accessible, all too common.

I feel the same way about images from Cannes, the older images are simply magic.

BTW best swimwear moment is Daniel Craig in Casino Royal, oh I meant to say Deborah Kerr.

July 28, 2010 at 9:55 am

FiestyWife

Active Member

I love the modesty & simple, classiness that the swimsuits, & photos, just exude.

July 28, 2010 at 10:05 am

gina

(website)

I tend to like the newer more modern suits and photos, especially the mixed tops and bottoms on Kate Bosworth and Jessica Alba. My favorites though are Ursula Andress and Halle Berry – their suits aren’t anything special, but the knife belt adds an unexpected and stunning toughness to a bikini.

July 28, 2010 at 10:12 am

Sri

I may be the odd one here. Movies, especially swimsuit scenes are meant to be fantasy, not reality. Raquel Welch takes the cake for pure fantasy. It is a swimsuit that one would never wear in real life, and so there is no “I wish I could look like that” when I see it. It has a feminine wrap style, and animal print. It also combines big boobs and strong thighs in the same picture. It somehow has the effect similar to wearing pearls and studs in the same outfit. It is a picture that is hard to forget.

While I like Liz Taylor and other pics too – some of the fascination is simply that they are different. They are hourglass, which was the fashionable body shape then. They are modest by today’s standards, and the black and white pictures are always sweet.

If I had to wear a swimsuit, I would not choose either the Welch or the Taylor, but the more modern suits with quick dry and stretch fabric. Isn’t it fantastic that we live in the modern world where we can be comfortable and sexy in our swimsuits?

July 28, 2010 at 10:44 am

san

In Ursula Andress swimsuit top you can see how painful it was to have no stretch in fabrics at that time.

I had not seen the picture of Deborah Kerr in her suit but I would like to see that style come back again. I could frolic with modesty in that thing, really.
Who is the hunk behind her.

Speaking of hunks, Daniel Craig in Casino Royal, wasn’t too bad himself.

I think the pictures from the days when women weren’t already showing it all everywhere in public on billboards, movies, music videos, at the beach, on the street, were much more scandelous at the time than we view them today. They are very calm and romantic compared to the latter views of women showing it all.
Jessica Simpson and Demi Moore look like they are trying too hard and it doesn’t look beautiful or natural or any kind of romantic.

July 28, 2010 at 10:45 am

klauren

Active Member

I’m with you, Elizabeth Taylor was spectacular in those days – but I still get a little chuckle with Annette Funicello, that hair with that suit – crazy!

July 28, 2010 at 10:53 am

Joy

Veteran

It was fun to see all the amazing beauties in their movie swimsuits. Elizabeth Taylor stood out as my favorite too. Hopefully they will do a similar series on the movie hunks in their trunks.
I’m old enough to remember swim suits with gathered elastic legs. YuK! In the water excess fabric clung. It was pretty awful. My mom’s suit had lots of boning in the bodice…probably metal. My kids can’t believe there was a time before plastic.

July 28, 2010 at 11:00 am

Margot

For me, the differences between the 50’s/60’s photos and those of today boil down to 2 things.

1. the old-school movie stars were curvier, which I think is far more appealing than today’s ubiquitous stick-thin with huge boobs popping out.

2. In the shots from yesteryear, the women look relaxed, and beautiful. Not in-your-face sexy or overtly sexualized like so many of the images we see today. It seems to me that today, everyone is conditioned to be so aggressively, overtly sexual that there’s no focus on just being pretty, or relaxed, or just looking nice. I don’t need string bikinis and lots of rear-end and boobs in my face all the time!

July 28, 2010 at 11:03 am

Sihaya

Veteran

Nice collection. My favs, most favorite first are:
Halle Berry
Liz Taylor
Urusla Andress
Angeline Jolie

July 28, 2010 at 11:03 am

Sihaya

Veteran

San – the hulk in from here to eternity is Montogomery Clift – one of my favorite old time actors.

July 28, 2010 at 11:04 am

Karen

(website)

Active Member

How do you pick from those icons? Elizabeth Taylor and Raquel get my vote!

July 28, 2010 at 11:13 am

Kristine

Veteran

Beautiful! My favorite was Liz Taylor, I love the simple white tank. I can’t believe they didn’t include Marilyn Monroe!

July 28, 2010 at 11:13 am

taylor

Veteran

Such beautiful women from yesteryear.!!
No botox, tummy tucks, augmentation. Unlike the Hollywood manufactured artificial beauties of today.
I can really marvel at a woman who can look like Raquel Welch or Elizabeth Taylor in a swimsuit because so few women could actually pull it off naturally, and that truly sets them apart.

July 28, 2010 at 12:04 pm

Julie

I prefer the more modern, athletic look: Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Kate Bosworth.

July 28, 2010 at 12:32 pm

April

Veteran

Yes, Liz Taylor without question. And I know it’s incredibly famous, but I have never liked that picture of Ursula Andress.

I had forgotten what an inverted triangle Bo Derek was. I remember when that movie came out and she became a star — those of you who were born around that time may not know that she was the one who popularized working out with weights for women. I remember my high school English teacher saying that she had transformed our ideas about female beauty because she was so robust about the ribcage and shoulders.

July 28, 2010 at 12:37 pm

Meredith2

I didn’t think I’d ended voting for an old school beauty, but that white swimsuit on Elizabeth Taylor is perfection and gets my #1 vote. I also think as far as “iconic swimsuits” go, you have to give it to Farrah Fawcett for #2, and then I’d say Ursula Andress. I love Halle Berry’s nod to Andress’ suit, and I also like the athletic, unknown-at-the-time Kate Bosworth’s mismatched ensemble.

July 28, 2010 at 12:47 pm

mamark

As to what those 1950’s and 1960’s swimsuits were made out of: I remember my Mom’s swimsuit, which she’d owned since the 1960s. It was made out of exactly the same stuff as her girdles. It couldn’t have been spandex, but maybe just industrial strength elastic. I recall she never wanted to get it wet because it took forever to dry. But that’s probably how it was possible to achieve a wasp-waited sillhouette in a one-piece suit!

July 28, 2010 at 1:11 pm

mamark

sorry, that was “wasp-waisted.”

July 28, 2010 at 1:12 pm

Gaylene

Veteran

I love Montgomery Cliff, but I the “hunk” with Deborah Kerr is Burt Lancaster. The beach scene with those two is still one of the hottest scenes ever filmed– and they kept their clothes (or rather, bathing suits) on!

July 28, 2010 at 1:37 pm

Cecilia

I personally have to say that when the words “iconic swimsuit” entered my head, the Raquel Welch image was the one that flashed through my mind. I agree that the black and white images give them a classic quality, but I also think it is because of how old I am and my experiences. I didn’t even know who many of the most recent and younger actresses were…

July 28, 2010 at 1:58 pm

Auburn

Veteran

Looks like I’m an outlier here, as I most like the suit Gwyneth Paltrow is wearing. That might be because I’m an insufferable GP devotee, but I think it looks fresh and modern, even though it is supposedly set in the mid-1950s.
And, it must be said, Demi looks just ridiculously fabulous. To the extent she’s had work done, it was done well!

July 28, 2010 at 2:46 pm

Maya

Veteran

I’m amazed anyone would think those bodies are representative of today’s reality, or that they aren’t stick thin. Elizabeth Taylor’s waist looks about 20″ in that picture.

I have no interest in swimsuits so this is alien territory for me. I think the problem with swimsuits of today are that they are far more revealing and about showcasing the body. I know I am a prude when it comes to clothes, so that might just be my preference. I think Elizabeth Taylor looks stunning in her swimsuit, without looking cheesy or desperate.

July 28, 2010 at 6:41 pm

Lisa

Veteran

I like the older photos. I prefer a woman with a little curves compared to the bony, too thin one’s in more recent photos. I know super skinny, and tanned, and whatever else is done now is the norm but it’s also really unrealistic. Most people just don’t look like the people in today’s bikini ads. And I wouldn’t want too. My first though is, aren’t you hungry? My second thought is, are you healthy? When you see ribcages (ala Jessica Simpson) or the muscles of your abs and legs (ala Demi Moore) I wonder if that is really a good shape to have your body in? A woman has some fat for a reason, and too extreme one way or the other to me is not attractive.

My favorite shots were:
Ursula Andres
Rachel Welch
Angelina Jolie

July 28, 2010 at 7:27 pm

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Your perspectives were interesting and certainly helped me pinpoint why the old Hollywood movie stars steal the swimsuit show. Most of your reasons resonate with me.

I thought about it a little longer and the Hollywood stars do not have the bodies of more average women, even though they are curvier, less toned and a little more meaty.

Cheers to Daniel Craig in Casino Royale!

Michelle, your educated guess is spot on.

July 29, 2010 at 7:08 am

Meredith

My favorite iconic swimsuit is one that didn’t make the list: Betty Grable
http://www.google.com/m/search.....imsuit#i=2

Although I agree that Daniel Craig’s swimsuit definitely deserves a nod!

Love,
m!

July 29, 2010 at 8:02 am

Barbara

Veteran

Ursula Andress looks like a goddess. Curves and a beautiful face. Sexy without trying. I’ll bet it was hard for Sean Connery to concentrate while filming that Bond movie!

July 29, 2010 at 11:45 am

Tanya

Veteran

These are gorgeous images Angie, very glamorous. Part of it is black and white photography for sure. Ursula Andress is my favorite, I remember seeing that movie many times and that scene of her getting out of the ocean always took my breath away.

August 8, 2010 at 6:52 am

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